Simply No Comparison

5102012

One question I have been asked a lot this week is about the core tool we use in our Talent Management services, the Birkman Method®. “Why is this any different from any of the other 1,500 tools out there?”

There are plenty of long answers to that question, but let’s answer the question with some more questions. These are my top three questions you should ask of whatever tool you are using at the moment:

What is its shelf-life?

In other words, once a person has completed this instrument, how long can you keep using the data with confidence? Typical answer will be 12-18 months. Birkman shows exceptional stability in adults at 5, 10 and even 20 years. For an organization, this makes Birkman a “deploy once per employee, use forever” tool. And yes, the inference is correct: a Birkman profile is generally not influenced by current situation or context; rather it gives a reading of individuals which will be true over time, regardless of the context in which they find themselves.

Does it prevent recruitment shock?

I meet no end of HR Directors and others who really rather like their current tool or tools. But when I ask this question, they invariably say, “not really – we still get people who profile well, interview beautifully – and then behave quite differently when they get on board.” That isn’t the experience we have using Birkman. Most often we hear “your predictions were spookily accurate”. Birkman is highly predictive of actual behaviours in role. Worth something to you?

If you stack up 10 or 100 (or 10,000) of these profiles, what do you get?

Although some tools have some element of team reporting (normally maxing out at 10-12 individuals), most don’t. 100 DISC or MBTI or Belbin or StrengthsFinder reports is just a big stack of paper – and pretty incomprehensible at that. 100 Birkman Profiles put together is instant organizational insight, because unlike every other tool we have reviewed, Birkman was built from the ground up as an organizational performance tool. By considering the individual as someone who will have to operate in a social and organizational context, Dr Birkman produced a tool which is uniquely able to map organizational strength, culture and capacity.

Like any powerful specialist tool, you need skill and understanding to use Birkman effectively. At Elaura we have focussed relentlessly on developing those skills and understanding over the past dozen years. As a result we can provide you with the Birkman expertise you need; or we can train your people in the use of Birkman. Want to know more? Email us